Freedom's Promise: Task Force 125 (13 page)

Sarah nodded and sat up straight on the couch.  "I was thinking the same thing.  Will, you know we need interior reconnaissance.  We shouldn't go
in blind.  Nobody will be the wiser when I'm wearing an
abaya
and a
niqab
to cover my hair and face.  Let's do it!"

Will gave Sarah a questioning look.  "Are you sure?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Will shook his head.  "All right, here's how we're gonna
play
it.  It’s too late to get everyone in place tonight.  Brian, you talk to your cousins and set it up so Sarah goes in the day after tomorrow.  When you get that done, get with Chris and Jason and start plotting our flight plans.  I want the choppers to take separate routes.  We'll take off at dusk tomorrow.  Jason, are you still good to fly the gunship?"

"You bet your balls I am."

Brian dashed downstairs to make his calls.

"Good.  When you get the flight plan settled, make the call to your boy Gino.  Tell him we're going to need a good place to camp and those tents he mentioned.  And we'll need a truck waiting at the landing zone to get Sarah to the village for work.  Once you get all that together, get some sleep."

"You got it.  What about personal weapons?"

"Arm up and load the choppers with handguns and rifles for every man before we go. 
Everything in that armory mission ready?"

"Affirmative."
  Jason left the room and disappeared downstairs.

"Good.  I’ll put a call in to Davidson."  Will
turned
to Sarah.  "Sarah, have you still got that palette of colored contacts we bought for you back in Vegas?" 

"Sure do."

"Great.  You'll need brown eyes.  Those green ones of yours will draw too much attention.  Get some of that self tanner I know you have and get to work on your face.  You’ll need to be darker around your eyes if you’re going to pull this off."

Chapter Twenty-Six

The sun was nearly down on Vince’s sixth day in captivity when Sarah and the boys checked their personal gear in the hangar before loading the
choppers and moving out.  They looked like a real force to be reckoned with in black battle fatigues and T-shirts with handguns strapped to their thighs and extra ammo clips on their belts. 

Will
broke
the silence.  "All right, troops, this is it.  This is the point of no return.  We're about to declare war on the Russian Mafia on Saudi soil.  If we get caught, there are only two possibilities—either the Russians will kill us or the Saudis will.  If you aren't up for it say so now.  If you're in, you're
all
in.  There can be no turning back from here."

Sarah tucked her Ka-Bar into her right combat boot then checked the ammo in her Sig Sauer SAS forty-fives and holstered them in their thigh holsters.  "Will?"

"Yeah, Sarah?"

"Quit flappin' your gums and check your gear.  We've got some ass to kick and not time to waste."

Will beamed and shook his head. 
"Right on, sister."
  He finished loading his gear into the civilian chopper and walked over to Jason, who was checking the Blackhawk's systems before takeoff.  "You all set, Jason?"

Jason looked up at Will. 
"Right as rain.
  I've got Chris on navigation and Sarah and
Guinea
on guns."

Sarah and
Guinea
, both ready for action, grunted, “Hooah!” in unison.

Will's face blanched.  "Jason, you have to get in there with no contact.  We can’t afford any target shooting. 
Sarah
,
Guinea
, any contact before we get to the rendezvous point will compromise our mission.  Jason, you need to avoid any possible witnesses."

Jason put a calming hand on Will's shoulder.  "We're good, Will.  I was kidding.  This isn't my first rodeo, you know."

Will looked down at his legal pad and rubbed his forehead.  "Yeah, you're right.  I'm sorry, man."

"It’s okay.  You’re a great leader.  You’ve covered all the bases.  It's a good plan, and we're going to nail it just like we did on the tabletop run-through."

Brian swaggered over to Jason with a shit-eating grin.  "Feels good to be back in the cockpit, doesn't it?"

Jason beamed.  "You know it." 

Will
patted
the doorframe.  "You sure she isn't too much for you to handle?"

"Are you kidding me?  I've been making love to this old girl for years.  She’s the same model we used in the Army.  It's the real women I can't handle.  They got no instrument panel."

Brian gave Jason a fist bump.

"You're true blue, Jase."

"Nah, I'm O.D. green.  Blue is for pussies like you."  He turned to get into the cockpit.  "See you at the party."

Sarah and
Guinea
climbed into the gunners' seats of the Blackhawk and buckled in.

"You got it."  Brian walked over to the closed hangar doors and prepared to slide them open.  His voice carried clearly through the hangar.  "Ready, Chris?"

Chris sat in the copilot's seat of the Blackhawk.  "Not yet."  He gave Brian the hand signal to stop and watched his laptop screen for a window when satellites wouldn't be passing overhead while Jason fired up the war machine for a speedy egress.  Within just a few seconds, Chris flashed Brian the all clear with a thumbs up, and Brian and Will threw the massive doors open swiftly.

Sarah felt the Blackhawk lift just slightly and then they flew out of the hangar as though Jason did this sort of thing every day.  She smiled with pride. 

Sometimes I forget just how amazing my friends really are. 

Sarah took a deep breath, relieved they were finally underway. 

We can do this.  We can do anything.

She went over the plan in her head.  Brian and Will would stop at the Burj Al Arab to pick up eight of Brock's guys and Will's pilot friend, Leo, would
pick up the other eight.  The two helicopters would take different routes to the rendezvous point
and arrive approximately ten minutes apart.  The team in the Blackhawk, consisting of Jason,
Chris
,
Guinea
, and Sarah, would take a third route, specifically designed to bypass any even remotely populated areas.  They would arrive shortly after the other two choppers.  

The setting sun cast a red glow over the desert beneath them. 
So clean, so smooth, so fluid in the wind
.
  Dunes passed like waves in an ocean of sand.  They flew at 175 miles per hour over a crystal ocean of red sand tinted by the last rays of the sun.  Peace settled over her.  In that moment she understood how the Bedouins could live the nomadic lives they did. 

The desert is so pristine, so pure.

The dark waves of sand lulled her into a meditative state.  She saw Vince.  She saw every step of the operation, and she saw them all leaving safely and going back to their lives as planned.  It would happen.  She knew it would.  Secure in her own training and the combat experience of her team, Sarah closed her eyes and let sleep take her. 

~~~

Jason set the Blackhawk down in a small, deep valley just big enough for three choppers, two big, black Bedouin tents, and two small pickup trucks.  Jason’s buddy, Gino, had come through with the gear. 

Sarah scanned the area.  The small valley was surrounded by high dunes.  If they were seen by satellites, nobody would think they were anything more than another Bedouin family making camp.

The civilian chopper flown earlier by Brian and Will was covered with desert camouflage so as not to arouse suspicion from anyone flying overhead.

Jason landed the Blackhawk and shut down the rotors.  Will and two big guys wearing desert camouflage ran out of a tent with a huge roll of camouflage netting.  They used a couple of long poles to stretch it over the Blackhawk.  A couple big guys wearing dress slacks and oxford shirts stepped outside the tent and lit cigarettes.  Sarah was happy to see the mercenaries
dressed appropriately for the Burj al Arab.  No doubt, they’d all be changing into their preferred combat garb soon. 

Sarah stretched from her catnap.

Jason removed his helmet and looked back toward Sarah and
Guinea
in the gunner seats.  "We'll need to stay under cover in the tents as much as possible and stay inside when satellites are passing.  Chris will be tracking them in real time."

Chris nodded and closed his laptop. 
"Looks like we're clear for another twenty minutes."

"Perfect."  Jason opened his door and stepped out. 

Chris, Sarah, and
Guinea
followed.

Jason's face lit up as he walked toward one of the big guys busy draping the camouflage netting over the chopper. 

Guinea
grabbed the camo netting and continued the task as the big guy greeted Jason with a smile and a man-hug. 

Jason grinned from ear to ear.  "I never thought I'd see your ugly spaghetti-
eatin
' face again but I'm glad I did." 

“Well, hell, man.  I’ve been playing in the sandbox all this time.  Heard you got picked up by the Agency.  I see it hasn’t improved your standard of living.”

“You’d be surprised!”  Jason laughed and patted him on the back.  "Did you meet the crew yet?"

The man motioned toward the tent. 
"Yeah, the squad of mercs in there and the two Navy guys.”
  He saw Sarah and stared.  “Who have you got with you here?"

Jason made his introductions.  "This is
Chris
,
Guinea
and Sarah.  Guys, meet Gino."

Gino shook Chris and
Guinea
's hands and then fixed Sarah with a questioning look.  "What's with the broad?"

Jason gave Sarah a wink and then turned back to Gino.  "The
broad
is cool, just don't piss her off.  And stay out of arm's reach plus about six inches.  She's got a body count."

"Always with the jokes!
  Come on, you are pulling my leg?"

Sarah took a deep breath and sighed.  She glanced at her watch.  "As much fun as it might be to stand around and bullshit, we've got a satellite coming.”  She shot Gino a perfunctory smile. 
“Nice to meet you, Gino.
  Thanks for helping us out."  She started walking toward the big, black tent and overheard Gino's words.

"She'd be hot if she didn't talk."

Jason chuckled. 
"Same old Gino.
  Trust me.  She’s hot no matter what she does."

Sarah stopped as she stepped inside the tent.  She was struck by the sweet scent of Frankincense.  She couldn't resist sniffing the woolen curtain serving as a door.  The scent was in the fabric from years of absorbing the smoke from the Bedouins.  The next scent to draw her attention was the mix of coffee and chai.  Fluorescent, battery-operated lanterns lit every corner of the room.  Two
dellas
, large brass coffee pots, sat in glowing coals in a large, shallow metal box in the center of the tent.  Persian rugs covered the sand floor and made for a comfortable camp.  Impressed with the service, Sarah grinned.  Any other time, this might be a fun getaway with friends.  

She glanced around the room at the men sitting on or reclining on bags of gear, drinking coffee and chai from glasses in silver holders.  These were the mercenaries, or rather contractors,
Guinea
’s friend Brock sent them.  All muscular and fit, they sported short haircuts and those with facial hair kept it well trimmed.  She had to hand it to Brock, he didn’t send any slobs.  

The room went silent when the
mercs
noticed her.  She took a deep breath and smiled. 
“Thanks for coming, boys.”

Three men in traditional white robes standing just inside the tent to Sarah's
left,
spoke animatedly in Arabic and gestured to Brian who was smiling like a Cheshire cat. 

He waved Sarah over.

Sarah strolled over to Brian.  He introduced her to his kinsmen in Arabic.  "Hamza, Abdullah and Muhammad, I want you to meet a very special woman.  This is my friend Sarah.  Don't let her beauty fool you.  She fights as well as any man I know."

The men appeared skeptical and seemed to size her up. 

Sarah spoke in Arabic for their convenience.  "Thank you, Brian.”  She smiled and nodded politely to the men.  “It is my pleasure to meet Brian's family." 

When they looked to Brian again, he nodded to reassure them this wasn’t a joke.

Sarah had expected this sort of response and watched their faces as they tried to wrap their brains around such a compliment to a woman.

Brian continued to speak Arabic like a native.  "My kinsmen collected rugs, coffee and chai supplies to welcome us in style."